Miracle
by kay4today
Summary: At the end of a long journey, his dearest wish takes a different direction. Perhaps this long journey is not quite over yet after all.
1. Prologue: At The End Of His Dearest Wish

**Disclaimer: **I don't own anything related to Fate/Stay Night. If I did, then I probably wouldn't write fanfiction about it. xD

**Author's Note: **This is something new I thought of. Telling you too much would probably spoil the fic, but as you can see in the descrpition, it contains Time Travel. Willing suspension of disbelief is required. xD

* * *

The cave was collapsing.

The great cave below the Ryuudou Temple on Mount Enzou, the most ideal place for the summoning of the Holy Grail. Most Servants were dead already, their magical energy greedily consumed by the cursed artifact. Rider and Emiya were probably still fighting Saber, but that didn't matter to him right now. The True Assassin and the Shadow killed Lancer, Saber defeated Caster, Archer was eaten by the Shadow, Berserker found his end at the hands of the young Emiya and the True Assassin was killed by **that girl**, together with his Master.

Or so she thought.

'I don't want to die.'

Of course, she _did_ kill him. He just hadn't died yet. His wish kept him alive, his determination. He could not die until he accomplished his goal. He couldn't.

'I don't want to die.'

The damn priest. **The girl **would not have been able to kill him if it hadn't been for him.

'I don't want to die.'

With his soul's vessel destroyed, it was only a matter of time until he died. He stuffed the remains of his decaying soul into the rest of his worms, but not even he could survive what had been done to him in such a short period of time. His obsession was the only thing that kept him in this world.

'I don't want to die.'

It wasn't fair. He was so close. The Grail was right in front of him. Not that he could actually see anything, but he was drawn to it like a moth. So how could he die? How could he die after five hundred years of fighting for it? It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair. Not after enduring so much pain. All those years... they could not be in vain. He didn't accept it.

'I don't want to die.'

It was a joke. A big joke. It was right in front of him. Why? Why didn't the Grail grant his wish?! Maybe if he got a bit closer... maybe...

'I don't want to die.'

It was amazing that he could still move. All that was left of him was a pile of flesh. He shouldn't have been able to move at all, but he still pushed forward. If he could just get close enough...

'I don't want to-'

"Makiri, how you have changed." Yet that beautiful voice was able to interrupt his obsession.

"... How can this...?" The worms stopped moving. That voice... Justizia's voice. The woman he so deeply admired. The woman who had sacrificed herself in order to create the Holy Grail so long ago.

He didn't know how, but he could see the girl in front of him. Perhaps she sent him a vision. The silver-haired girl was wearing the dress of heaven, as expected. She had Justizia's eyes. Eyes that were now looking at him with curiousity and... pity, of all things. Feelings he had forgotten for decades welled up in him. The admiration he felt for the woman had not faded, nor had it become any less.

"Makiri Zolgen, why do you not want to die?" The woman asked and spoke a name he had abandonded a long time ago.

It was a natural question. Why didn't he want to die? Why did he cling onto life so desperately, a life that only brought him suffering with each passing second?

_"Have you really lost your way to this extent? I thought you were better than this." _She had told him this during their confrontation in front of the Einzbern castle.

Lost his way? ... Of course. He remembered. His wish, his desire. No, at the beginning it was not immortality. His goal was something different. He wished for... ah. Right. So that was his wish.

He wished for a paradise. To make suffering, despair and pain disappear. To reach an utopia, not necessarily this world if it was not possible here. He simply wished to live in a world where things like suffering, despair, pain and hatred did not exist. A miracle is what he searched for. The Holy Grail. If the Holy Grail could not destroy all of the evils in the world, then what could?

Yes, he only wished for this miracle to happen. And yet he could never make it into reality, no matter how often he tried. But it didn't matter how often he was defeated or how often the world showed him that such a miracle was not possible, he did not give up. He couldn't. It didn't matter how much it hurt, how much the rotting of his body made him suffer, he couldn't give up and die.

His goal and his body were decaying at the same time. The wish he had forgotten. His sick desire for immortality eventually overcame his desire to create a paradise. Decay of his mind and soul made him forget. He was so obsessed over his desire to obtain immortality that he forgot. And not only did he forget, he... killed so many people. He killed people and made them suffer. And for what? For a foolish dream that eventually turned into a destructive goal. Pointless and selfish.

"I see. I see what you mean, Justizia. So this is it." He accepted it. His death and the knowledge that his dream could never come true.

But at the same time, he yearned for something else.

"Sakura... the person that suffered the most because of me."

Both his wishes for a paradise and immortality vanished and were replaced by something else.

"Hah. What a foolish time to repent." He chuckled to himself as the cave was collapsing around him.

Indeed, it was quite funny. To think he would change his wish to something like that. But at least the suffering of that girl, Sakura, had to be prevented. The girl that was about to end the world. In the end, he simply wished that the suffering of this girl would have never happened. Oh, at that moment he didn't care as much for the world as much for having the ability to undo all the pain he had inflicted to that girl. He couldn't tell why. Maybe that was the reason why it was so funny. Maybe he felt regret. He couldn't quite tell.

But if he was to undo her suffering, then maybe, just maybe... he could really die in peace, without any regrets. It would not undo all of his other atrocities, but at least it would be something. Another chance. All he wanted was another chance. He could not die until he made sure the girl's screams and whimpers disappeared from his mind and his soul.

"Hm...?" Justizia looked at him questioningly. "I thought you would finally give up now, Makiri."

"I cannot." He crawled forward. "At least the girl... I must save her, at the very least. Her screams are louder than everyone else's..."

"Oh?" She looked surprised. "I see, Makiri. So this is what you desire. Answer me honestly, if you could choose between undoing her pain and immortality, what would you choose?"

"I would choose the girl." His response came quickly. There was no lie in his words. Immortality didn't matter to him anymore, after all.

"I see." Traces of a smile lingered upon the woman's lips. "I did not think I would say this again, but you have changed, Zolgen. It would be easier to die. The pain would just stop."

"I will gladly endure this pain if it means saving her." Debris and rubble were falling all around them, some of them crushing worms that were left behind.

"Why?" She asked. "Why the sudden change of heart?"

"My mind desires it." He answered. Well, what remained of his mind. He could not explain it better. His sudden desire to undo that girl's suffering. It was just something he wished for. Perhaps it was spontaneous.

"I understand." Did she? He wasn't sure if he understood it himself.

"..." He couldn't say anything else. His mind was slowly blanking out, but he continued on crawling forward.

"If that is the case, then maybe I shall honor your last wish."

"..." It was only his willpower that kept him from stopping. He could not stop. He was dead for the most part already, he would and could not stop. Not now. Light filled his vision.

A bright light. Maybe he should just... no! He had to reach it. Even if he could not feel his body any longer, he would not stop pushing forward. He would never give up.

"I will show you a miracle, Zolgen." He could not even register the gentle voice anymore.

His mind felt as white as the light that consumed it, and at the same time rocks crushed the remains of his body.

The last one of the three that started it all disappeared from this world.

* * *

**Author's Note: **So with the Prologue out of the way, we can get started for real. I think by now it's rather obvious who is going to travel back in time, and I know it's a rather unusual character. I'm not sure how believable this change of heart is, probably not very. But yeah, some sacrifices need to be made, I guess. xD

Also, I haven't given up on my other fic, don't worry. The new chapter's almost finished.

I hope you like this fic so far and the premise doesn't disappoint you.


	2. Reborn

**Disclaimer: **I don't own anything related to Fate/Stay Night. If I did, then I probably wouldn't write fanfiction about it. xD

**Author's Note: **Thanks for the reviews, I really appreciate them. To be honest, I'm not entirely sure about most details myself, but I will try my best. So... Chapter 2!

The Kotomine reference is well-appreciated, by the way. xD

* * *

If anyone had asked him, Zouken would have told them he never bothered to think about heaven, hell or the afterlife in general as there were more important and relevant things to think about.

But as the old man slowly opened his eyes, there was no way to think of all of this as anything other than the afterlife.

He clearly remembered it all. The priest destroying his body, the girl crushing his soul's vessel, the woman speaking to him, his realization and finally the rocks crushing him. There was no way he could have survived all of this.

But if this was the afterlife, why was he in the Matou household's basement, surrounded by thousands of insects? If this was the afterlife, why was his body still made of worms? If this was the afterlife, why _was he still in pain_?

There was a simple answer to those questions. An answer, Zouken thought of not long after opening his eyes for the first time.

This afterlife was his own personal hell.

XXX

Even though he knew drinking the day before that Tohsaka girl came to them probably wasn't one of his smartest ideas, Byakuya Matou was nonetheless listlessly nipping on a wine glass in the Matou household's kitchen.

Maybe it was pathetic. These days Byakuya didn't do much apart from drinking and sulking. But who could blame him? Zouken had dismissed him as a failure since he was born. It wasn't his fault that he just had too few magic circuits. His only hope was to produce a suitable heir, but he failed. And the woman was thrown into the worm pit as a result of that. He certainly was angry over that, but what could he do against Zouken? Nothing. He could only ask his father for a quick death instead of keeping her there until she was violated into insanity. Surprisingly, the old man relented. Maybe he thought that angering his son too much was not a good thing, as little of a threat as he might have posed.

The anger and horror over it all diminished after some time. Byakuya couldn't decide whether that was a good thing or not.

He had always ignored his father's (that was a bad joke, there was no way this ancient old man was his actual father) atrocities because there was no way to stop them, but he had always felt disgusted and horrified when he had to see or hear about them. But these days he just regarded them with cold apathy. It probably made him into a bad person, but he just didn't care anymore. Everything seemed so meaningless and hollow. He just wanted to live the rest of his life in peace. Preferably drunk.

Byakuya sometimes wasn't quite sure whether his son, Shinji, was a blessing or a curse. On one hand, having a son still gave him a purpose, something that was worth living for. On the other hand, he felt so bitter and miserable sometimes that the only thing that kept him from comitting suicide was his son. So in other words, it was good to have a reason for not killing himself and it was bad to have a reason for not killing himself. He laughed when he thought about the absurdity of that.

But he truly thought it was better to die sometimes. He even got himself a gun. Purchasing the weapon wasn't too hard, since the Matou family was very rich. He rarely took it out of the safe under his bed, but when he did he always held it to his head for several seconds before locking it into its metallic prison again.

Byakuya pulled the trigger exactly once. He felt miserable that day, even more than usual. He had one of the worst headaches he had ever experienced and spent the evening with drinking glass after glass of his favourite wine. After the approximately nineteenth one, he opened the safe under his bed and took the gun, a Walther P99, in his left hand. The drunken man stared at the titanium-coated slide for almost three minutes before he awkwardly pointed the gun at his own head. It occured to him that he could shoot Zouken for the sheer hell of it before biting the bullet himself, but he really didn't want to risk being eaten alive by those terrifying insects that the old monster loved so much. His heart thumped loudly in his chest and a bead of sweat slid down his pale forehead. He tried to push Shinji out of his mind as well as he could and recalled the screeching screams of the woman as the worms violated her. He pulled the trigger, and instead of having soiled his bed with blood, he merely soiled his bed (and jeans) with urine. He forgot to load the pistol. The weapon fell out of his shaking hand, his opened mouth frozen in a silent scream. He spent the rest of the night vomiting.

Perhaps that experience was for the better (or worse), since pulling the trigger was something he could never do again. Was it cowardice? Was it the guilt of leaving his son behind? He didn't know. It could have been both.

Even though he had turned into a largely apathetic and cold man after living too long under Zouken, he still couldn't help but pity the poor girl that was about to be adopted into this wretched family, as much as the blue-haired man didn't want to feel bad for her. He knew exactly what was going to happen to her, and felt nothing but contempt for the head of the Tohsaka family. And his own, for that matter.

Byakuya didn't pretend he was a good father, but the thought of leaving his son to such a fate utterly disgusted him. He couldn't understand why Tohsaka would do such a thing. And the biggest joke was that the guy honestly seemed to think he was doing his daughter a favor.

If Byakuya hadn't resented magi and everything about magic already, he would have probably started to now.

As much as he loathed his brother, Kariya Matou and he had very similiar thoughts when it came to anything related to magic. Not that this meant anything to either of them. Byakuya didn't like to think about his brother. At all. Thinking about his brother meant thinking about himself. Thinking about himself made him wonder why he was sitting there, getting drunk and pitying himself while Kariya had the guts to stand up to Zouken and actually leave. Ah, there he was thinking about it again. The pitiful man shook his head furiously, immediately regretting it as sharp pain shot through his head.

"Damn." Byakuya whispered and rested his head on the kitchen counter. He was staying in this position for an hour before he jumped at hearing the basement door opening. The drunken man was not ashamed to let Zouken see him in this state, but he lifted his head nonetheless as he heard the very light tapping sounds of sandals echoing in the hallway.

The door to the kitchen opened and Byakuya looked into the white eyes of the head of the Matou family without an expression, like he always did, and immediately noticed, in spite of being drunk, two odd things. First, Zouken's presence didn't give him the slight feeling of danger that he always felt when he was around him. And second, the old man stared at him, looking like he was at loss of words. Byakuya licked his dry lips, starting to feel more uneasy by every second.

"I..." The blue-haired man winced uncomfortably. He cleared his throat. "The Tohsaka girl will arrive here tomorrow."

Zouken still looked at him in this strange and frightening way.

"I've prepared everything already. No need to worry." Byakuya said hastily.

The silence was unbearable, as was the staring.

"And..." He gulped. "I've already explained it to Shinji. He won't be a problem."

This was getting too nerve-wracking for Byakuya's taste. Just what did the old man want from him?

"An-"

"Byakuya." The old man's voice interrupted him. "Byakuya. What is this?"

"What is... what?" He asked in confusion, not noticing that Zouken wasn't talking to him.

Zouken ignored the question and stepped forward. It took much of Byakuya's willpower not to step back in fear. He went to the kitchen counter Byakuya stood next to and looked at the newspaper lying on it.

"Hah..."

Byakuya flinched.

Zouken cackled like he just heard the funniest joke. Byakuya heard and saw him laugh sometimes, but this time something was different, even if he couldn't point out what it was for sure.

"So that's how it is." The old man said. "I see. Justizia, you... I see." Apparently seeing the look he gave him, Zouken asked his descendant: "Something the matter?"

"No." Byakuya quickly said. "It's nothing."

"You will have to stop drinking. A responsible adult shouldn't drink while trying to raise two children, after all." Zouken told him, after which he turned around and left the room.

Byakuya just stood there and stared after the old man, unable to understand what the hell just happened.

XXX

Either all of this was a dying dream or the afterlife. Or something different. Zouken didn't know.

What he did know was that Sakura was going to be adopted into the Matou family in one day. Byakuya told him that, and he checked the date of the newspaper to make sure. It was true.

Justizia. Yes, Justizia must have done this. He told her his wish and she told him she would show him a miracle. And here he was. If this wasn't a miracle, what _was_? He didn't care whether this was the afterlife or his dying dream or... even something as ridiculous as having travelled back in time. What counted was that he was here. He was here and he hadn't even touched Sakura yet. He was here and had another chance. He was here and had all the information about what would happen in the Fourth and in the Fifth Grail War. He was here and... he could surely seize immortality with all this information he had.

"No." He said firmly as dark thoughts gathered in his head. "No, I am not going to let this desire overcome me." But would he stay true to that? Or would he succumb to the temptation?

Perhaps... yes, perhaps he should just kill himself now. Tokiomi Tohsaka would take his daughter to his home again and Sakura would never get adopted into the Matou family. The head of the Tohsaka family knew that Byakuya could not teach Sakura by himself, so giving her to the Matou family would have been completely pointless. That Byakuya and Shinji could benefit from it as well was also a thought he could not ignore.

But was this what Justizia wanted? Just killing himself? Was it really so simple? If he wanted to repent, wouldn't staying alive be the better solution? To regret. To suffer. Zouken knew that there was no redemption for someone like him, his atrocities were too many and too evil. Did that matter? Couldn't he at least try?

And that was not the only problem. He didn't know what, but something destroyed half of Fuyuki City in the Fourth War. And then there was Kirei Kotomine, who was a dangerous enemy in the Fifth War, with a possibly even more dangerous wish. He had to deal with both those things. There was also the demented child murderer Caster and his Master in the Fourth War. He, who had always dreamt of making the world into a better place, perhaps even a paradise, could not possibly ignore these things.

There were still so many things to think about, but there was one thing he knew. He would teach Sakura magecraft this time and more importantly, give her the crest too. This time he wouldn't implant the crest worms in her, he would give her the actual Makiri crest, the one he was given to from his own father. Worms had always been the familiars of the Makiri magi, but these particular crest worms had been Zouken's very own invention. Before that, the Makiri had a different kind of crest. It would still be hard for the little girl, but she wouldn't need to suffer like she did under the crest worms.

But this was only one aspect. Magic. The other aspect was arguably even more important. To both him and her. What was her life like last time? Her life was a neverending mix of misery and horror. Byakuya ignored her for the most time, Shinji actually treated her quite well at first, but started to become malicious and cruel after having found out the truth. And Zouken himself? He made her suffer the most of all. Not this time. No, this time he would treat her quite differently. And this time Sakura Tohsaka, soon to be Sakura Matou, would have a quite different experience in the Matou household as well. Last time she was forced to trade her family for a life full of pain and misery, but this time?

This time she was forced to trade her family for a new one. It was quite simple, if still horrible for the poor girl. How must Sakura have felt when she was told she couldn't live with her beloved parents and her beloved sister anymore?

Hating Tokiomi and Aoi Tohsaka for their decision would have been ridiculously hypocritical, and he didn't feel very much resentment for them anyway. He just thought they wouldn't give her so willingly, but then again, Zouken did understand the thoughts of magi rather well. So he wasn't too surprised. And Rin Tohsaka ignored her sister for all those years for the same reasons. Maybe not this time. There was no reason why the Tohsaka and the Matou family couldn't be close allies, if not friends, after all, was there? Hah, of course there was a reason, but would the Tohsaka head protest if Zouken suggested for the sisters to see each other regulary? Perhaps. He would need to think about this later. Right now, he was feeling tired. Sleep was always welcome. It blocked the pain out.

He did not dream of Justizia as he hoped, but his determination was still there after he woke up. And there was hope. Hope that he did the right thing this time.

Hope that the girl would not suffer this time.

* * *

**Author's Note: **I wrote quite a bit about Byakuya and surprised even myself with it. I guess he fascinates me in an odd way, and I might have portrayed him as a little too sympathetic. But I honestly think it's not that much of a stretch that he did most of those things and his portrayal in Fate/zero is, while kind of pathetic and jerky and selfish, still 2 years after that. Also, he was drunk. XD

Zouken's portrayal might seem too sympathetic here too, but I'm not going write him as an unambiguously good character, don't worry.

I hope you liked it.


	3. Perspective

**Disclaimer: **I don't own anything related to Fate/Stay Night. If I did, then I probably wouldn't write fanfiction about it. xD

**Author's Note: **Chapter 3. It's a bit longer than what I usually write... and to be honest, writing the first part creeped me out a bit. xD

Thank you for your reviews. I greatly appreciate them. :)

I can't really say that anyone else went back to the past as well. Still thinking about that part, actually. Only one person comes to mind, and they're not even an actual person per se... well, not anymore.

Chapter 3 starts now!

* * *

To say Ryuunosuke Uryuu was annoyed would have been an understatement.

The red-haired teenager might have been crazy, but he wasn't stupid. He knew that most "normal" (he prefered to call them "boring" though) people wouldn't appreciate his art, so it upset him all the more.

He thought he had finally found someone who shared his freaky interests. The girl seemed plain and boring, like everyone else, at first glance, but she was anything but! She was the first and only person he knew who shared his fascination with torture, killing and serial killers, and sometimes they talked about exactly those things for hours! So he thought that she would have been thrilled to see the fridge on that abandonded dumping ground!

Ryuunosuke knew he'd probably turn into a serial killer sooner or later. Hell, he had the urge to kill and torture other people already, but he was worried over getting caught. Getting caught would have resulted in him not being able to do cool things anymore, which totally would have sucked! He knew that other people didn't approve of his desire for some weird reason, a fact that deeply upset him sometimes. He truly pitied all of them. Really, he felt like crying sometimes. Was he really one of the few people on this planet who truly enjoyed himself? He sometimes wondered why God didn't make it so everyone could have fun, but it was better not to question him. Maybe he was one of few chosen ones. One of the few who was strong enough to overcome the urge _not _to kill! That so many people denied their true nature and he was one of the few who fully embraced it. Yes, that thought never failed to cheer him up!

It was a good thing insects and animals existed. It would have been more fun with humans, but torturing and killing insects and animals was good enough. For now anyway. He started with insects, naturally. Sometimes he'd impale a bug on a pin and just watched the little creature squirm until it finally died. That usually took a pretty long time, but he never got bored of it. He also catched butterflies, ripped their wings off and just watched them move around on the ground in a pitiful manner for several minutes before crushing them. He drowned insects, burned them, crushed them, impaled them... it would have been easier to say in which ways he _didn't _torture and kill them. Animals were much trickier. They were harder to catch most of the time, and sometimes they'd escape by scratching or biting him. He couldn't always hold them. The sounds they made were much more satisfying though. Insects never made these sounds, so no wonder he wasn't satisfied with only them after a short while anymore! Cats, smaller dogs, birds sometimes... but mice, rats and hamsters were his favourites. They were conveniently small, couldn't escape if he was careful enough and the sounds they made were like music to his ears. They were worth the money, that much was certain!

The abandoned dumping ground at the outskirts of the town was a place he used to play a lot as a child, and it came in handy when Ryuunosuke had to dispose of dead animals. Insects he could just throw in the garden or something, but larger animals? No, they had to go to the dumping ground. What would his family's neighbours do if they found their dead cat near their house? Or rather, a part of it? Would they suspect him? He didn't like risks.

The fridge was pretty much at the center of the dumping ground. It was one of those old-fashioned fridges with a latching door that couldn't be opened from the inside. He noticed this back when he used to play there with some of his friends. Once he had locked one of them in there as a prank, and since the boy couldn't open the door when they told him to do just that, he was pretty sure it was impossible to open it from the inside. Ryuunosuke and his other friends let the boy out once he had screamed himself hoarse in panic. So when he saw that fridge again, carrying the dead body of a cat alongside him in a bag, a brilliant idea shot through his head. Just how awesome would it be if he could fill that fridge with his projects until it was full? He was sure the end result would look totally awesome, a really cool piece of art!

And since that girl was really into that sort of stuff and loved looking at pictures of gory and bloody things, Ryuunosuke thought she'd be thrilled to see his very own collection! She was very excited when he told her about a cool surprise on the dumping ground, but once he had opened the fridge... she really confused him when she just screeched shrilly and ran away as fast as she could, her eyes widened in an almost comical way. That reaction would have been entertaining in most other situations, but it was really depressing that a person he almost considered his soulmate would react to it like that. But soon he didn't feel sad as much as just annoyed. Pah, who needed something stupid like a soulmate anyway? He was plenty happy on his own already!

Still, he figured he'd need to get those dead animals in the fridge away or something, in case she'd tell the police or her parents. It was a pity. The fridge was filled to almost three quarters already! Oh well, he could just find a similiar dumping ground with a similiar fridge. God was with him after all!

After he went home to get a suitable bag, Ryuunosuke entered the dumping ground again. It was dark already. He wanted to get this done fast. He opened the fridge (it stunk horribly, but he didn't mind that much) reached inside and-

"Eh?" The red-haired teenager froze. "W-Wha...?" He stumbled back and fell on his butt. There was something attached to his arm. It looked like a worm, but... it was almost as big as one of those big rats. And it had _teeth. _And most importantly, it was biting _him. _"I-Is this some kind of joke?" He giggled hysterically. This was a dream, wasn't it? Like, this was too ridiculous not t- "Hey!" He protested in pain as he felt something bite his left arm. And suddenly, Ryuunosuke didn't think of this as a dream anymore. Neither as reality, really. He just knew he had to get away. Fast.

He got up on his feet and promptly fell down again. There were more of these _things_. All over his feet and legs. No, they were all over his _body. _"Get off me." The shock passed, now there was only pain. "Get off me! GET OFF ME! GET OFF ME! GET OFF ME! GETOFFMEGETOFFMEGETOFFMEGET-"

The screams became muffled and soon stopped altogether.

"Truly, I will never get used to this disgraceful action." An old man was standing in front of the fridge now, the teenager Ryuunosuke Uryuu had disappeared from this world.

In the end it didn't take longer than a few minutes. The boy had lost consciousness after a short time, which perhaps was more mercy than he deserved.

But Zouken Matou had no desire to make anyone suffer needlessly for their atrocities. He had done many, _many_ in his unpleasant past himself, so who was he to judge what kind of retribution was appropriate for anyone? He would do things that needed to be done, in the fastest and most practical way he could think of. Ryuunosuke Uryuu, who would have summoned the equally murderous Servant Caster in two years, was one of the people that needed to be taken care of.

Zouken had no need to follow the teenager for a long time. He had been lucky. He had observed Uryuu taking his girlfriend (?) to the dumping ground and silently cursed his luck. There was no way to kill the young teenager when an innocent girl was with him. Zouken had been pleased when that girl ran away screaming, because he knew that Uryuu would try to dispose of the animals inside the fridge and thought this was the perfect time to assault him. It had gotten dark already and no one was to see this little happening, so he simply hid himself in the fridge in order to launch a surprise attack and waited.

Truthfully, he didn't need to hide in the fridge when he could have just assaulted Uryuu from every direction, but he couldn't help but do it anyway. It seemed right to him in a way, like poetic justice. Maybe that made him petty and hypocritical, since he told himself he would do everything in the most practical way possible, but nobody was perfect.

He had been in need of a new body too, so he just killed two birds with one stone. His new body was rotting already though, and so was his soul. Rotting alive. Last time the wish for immortality had kept him alive in spite of this pain, this time it was something else. But this time his desire to die was strong as well. But he couldn't die, no matter how much it hurt. No, he would need to endure this pain.

The thought of having to preserve his body and soul by killing other people again almost made him shudder in horror at first, but he thought that perhaps taking the body of "evil" (a word he didn't like to use, but it served its purpose) people would compensate? Yes, Ryuunosuke Uryuu had to die anyway, so there was no reason not to make use of him at the same time. Perhaps it was not right to kill even "evil" people like that from a moral point of view, but that was something Zouken didn't want to deal with right now. However, he would need to take another body in a few months, so he had to look for... suitable candidates. And they had to be "evil" people, he would make sure of that. Perhaps that view was incredibly childish and maybe he was doing something wrong, but there was no way he could just die and endanger the entire world when he was able to prevent it. And there were other factors too...

But that wasn't important right now. The girl would come tomorrow and there were still other things that needed to be taken care of before.

XXX

Shinji Matou eagerly flipped to the next page of his book, having remembered all the important parts that were on the previous one.

Granted, he didn't really care about Alchemy, but he told himself he could need it at some point. He would study _all _aspects of magic and absorp all the knowledge like a sponge. He would definitely become a magus his family could be proud of!

Shinji inwardly rolled his eyes. His father was just too protective. That was the only possible explanation why he didn't tell him of that giant library (seriously, grandfather may have been creepy, but all the knowledge he had amassed here was amazing) in the Matou household. Father apparently thought Shinji would hurt himself or something. What a joke! Shinji knew that safety was extremely important, but he hadn't tried to make any spells yet anyway... but that would come eventually. Besides, he was the Matou heir! He obviously had to start studying early! What was his father thinking?

The boy flipped to the next page, feeling slightly bored. Maybe practising Alchemy would be more to his liking in the future, but learning the theory was important too, so he kept on reading. He was so engrossed in his reading that he didn't notice the presence of another person in the room.

"Good evening, Shinji." The casual voice of his grandfather said.

Shinji almost dropped his book in shock. He quickly turned his head and saw the old man standing in the entrance. Shinji gulped and looked at him, surprised to not see any anger or disappointment (although it was hard to see any kind of emotion on that face sometimes). He was still afraid, but nonetheless managed to stammer out a: "G-Good evening, grandfather."

"Do not think I am angry at you for being in my library." Zouken glanced at the impressive amount of bookshelves, then looked back to his grandson. "Quite the opposite. It is good that the knowledge I have amassed here is finally being put to some use. Quite impressive, don't you think?"

"Very, yes!" Shinji grinned. It was a nice feeling that his grandfather approved of it. As the head of the Matou family, he surely saw Shinji's potential too.

"The Matou family has always been good at gathering information. That so many prominent figures of our family have been bug users as well only undermines this fact."

"Bug users?" Shinji asked. "Ah, I see! They're small, so they can be used as spies!"

"Among other things, yes." Zouken pointed at the book in the boy's hands. "Alchemy is a quite useful skill as well."

"Yeah, I guess." Shinji muttered. "It's just a bit..." He shrugged.

"Boring?" Zouken suggested helpfully. He received a hesistant nod from his grandson. The old man nodded as well. "I understand. It does seem rather boring at first. However, it is a respectable skill nonetheless. The Einzbern family, one of the great three, is very proficient in it. Particulary in Transmutation. One should keep that in mind when fighting one of their magi."

"Have you fought against those guys, grandfather?" Shinji asked, clearly interested at the thought of a battle between two magi.

"I have. Although most Matou magi should avoid a direct confrontation. Since most of us are bug users, it is more practical to catch them off-guard and surprise them with our insect familiars." Zouken explained. "Even most semi-decent magi can counter insect familiars without too much effort when they see them coming. A bug user trying to attack an enemy head-on... it is suicidal and idiotic."

"Thanks, grandfather. I'll keep that in mind." Shinji smiled contentedly. "I'll never fight in such a stupid way, don't worry! Being sneaky can be funny anyway, so it's not a big deal for me."

"Shinji, there is something I need to tell you."

"Uh, sure." The boy said uneasily, his smile faltering a little at the serious tone.

Zouken grimaced slightly. He wasn't looking forward to this at all, but it was one of the things that needed to be done. He hoped Shinji would take it well this time and that his suggestions would reach the boy.

"Your father has already told you that Sakura Tohsaka is going to be adopted into the Matou family, I presume?"

"Yeah, he said I'd get an adoptive sister." Shinji simply said, clearly not happy about it, although he tried not to show it.

"Do you know why?"

"No." The boy admitted. Zouken noticed that Shinji seemed to be quite wary by now. Did he ever consider that he was never to be the heir to begin with after all? It was possible. But maybe Shinji just noticed that he was acting strangely. Children could be very perceptive at times.

"Do you know how much magic your father can do?" Zouken asked.

"Um..." Shinji seemed uncomfortable with the question. Was he embarrassed that his father was most likely (in his eyes) not even a magus? Maybe. "I never saw him do any."

"Your father tried to keep the existence of magic from you, so it does not surprise me that he didn't use any even when he thought you weren't present. He has few magic circuits, which means he could most likely never become better than just mediocre." Zouken sighed. "I never even taught him any magic. I am ashamed to admit that I dismissed him as a failure when I found out about his small number of magic circuits. At the beginning he tried to impress me, but I also dismissed that. He showed me some basic and easy magic like fixing a broken window. It did not impress me. I think he just gave up at one point."

"Do... Do I have enough magic circuits, grandfather?" The boy seemed more than uncomfortable now. He didn't even try to hide his fear anymore.

"Shinji, you are unfortunately incapable of using magic by yourself." Zouken had no idea how the boy would react if he couldn't blame Sakura for it, but...

"... That's why that girl is going to come here, right? So that she can be the heir instead of me." He was surprised that his grandson worked it out on his own. True, it didn't require much thinking, but not bad for a child. Not bad at all. What surprised him more was how calm the boy sounded though.

"You are correct." Zouken affirmed. "I am impressed by your perceptiveness." Complimenting the child couldn't hurt, he thought. Especially since he had ridiculed the boy and preyed on his insecurities all of the time last time. And why? Because he had known Shinji would let his anger and frustration out on Sakura, which he had thought would help in breaking the girl.

"She..." Zouken noticed the boy was shaking now. Probably anger. "She is going to steal it. Steal it all!" Shinji's voice grew more and more agitated, and he was actively shouting now. Whatever fear he might have had was evaporated by his anger. "This isn't fair! I'm the heir! She's just some girl and not even a Matou by blood! This isn't fair!"

"She cannot steal what was never yours to begin with." Zouken spoke calmly. "The magic in our family just died out in time. The Matou are not capable of producing proper heirs anymore, so I have decided to adopt Sakura Tohsaka. This is no one's fault. It just happens sometimes." He sighed. "Look, I do not blame you for being upset. This is the exact reason why your father never wanted you to find out about all of this. But do not blame me for adopting that girl. She has enormous magical potential, and I have no intention of giving our magic up."

"But she's not a Matou by blood!" Shinji complained. "So all of this is meaningless!"

Zouken shook his head. "No, Shinji. It is true that our magical blood may die out. However, our magic will live on through her. She will receive our family crest, which she will pass on to her children. They will pass it on to _their _children, and so forth."

"So what?" Shinji spat. "What about me? All of this crap was meaningless." He threw the book he had held tightly in his hands just a moment ago against the wall in disgust. "I wasted all my time on reading this garbage!"

Regarding him expressionlessly, Zouken asked: "Shinji, do you still want to be of use for the Matou family?"

"Why would I?" The boy snarled. "I'm useless to this family!"

"You cannot use magic, but that does not mean you are useless."

Shinji looked at him suspiciously. "What do you mean?"

"Do you think this girl wants to leave her family?" Seeing Shinji's confused expression, Zouken elaborated: "Sakura Tohsaka is still very young. I do not doubt that her father will explain everything to her as well as he can. What I doubt is that she will understand. She might even think that she is useless to her family or that they hate her."

"Why do they give her away anyway?"

"Because Sakura Tohsaka's older sister already has tremendous potential. Let me explain." Zouken said after seeing Shinji's expression becoming even more confused. "Most magi would be troubled by such a thing. Only one child is to continue the family lineage and is to obtain the family crest. And since both sisters seem to have been born with impressive and rare natural talents, their father thinks it would be for the best if one of them was adopted into a family that would not let her potential go to waste."

"Is there no way to just give both of them the crest?" Shinji asked, causing Zouken to smile slightly in approval. The boy's anger had subsided quite a bit due to his natural interest and curiousity in the magical world. That was good.

"No. Only one child is to obtain the family crest. The other child is still able to learn magic, provided they have the talent to do so, but they are also forever destined to live in their sibling's shadow. There are exceptions though. The Edelfelt clan has a special Sorcery Trait that gives them the ability to pass their family crest onto two of their children, effectively making both of them heirs."

Shinji nodded. "So that guy gives his daughter away, because he thinks she'll feel worthless compared to her sister?"

"That is probably one reason, yes." Zouken answered. "However, the biggest reason is because he feels that his daughter's potential and talent will go to waste if she does not receive an adequate training and a powerful crest. For him, this is the worst thing he could do to his daughter, as magic is held in the highest regard for a 'true' magus."

Shinji crossed his arms in defiance. "But what does that have to do with me?"

"Ah, I seem to have gotten a little off-topic, haven't I?" Zouken chuckled. "Well, I am telling you all of this, because it is important that you understand." He sighed. "Here is what your soon-to-be adopted sister has to do with you. I want you to help her."

"More like I'll be her servant." The boy sneered, anger clearly flashing up in him again.

"No. You are not obliged to take any orders from her." He knew that Sakura would never order the boy around anyway, but he felt that it was important to mention it to Shinji anyway. "I am asking you to help her, because I think you could play a quite valuable part in her growth as a magus. If you were truly useless, I would not ask you anything. I would tell you to stop wasting your time here with these books and start accepting that you have no place in the world of magic." Zouken told his grandson bluntly.

"But I can't use any magic! That must mean I have no place in the world of magic!"

"According to most magi, it does. But to me, it does not. Let me give you an example." He really hoped Shinji would be swayed by what he was about to tell the boy. It would make things easier for everyone. "There used to be a man who is still quite well-known among older members of the Mage's Association and the Holy Church. I am talking about Kiritsugu Emiya, known as the 'magus killer'. Do you want know why he was so infamous?"

Shinji nodded without much hesistance, clearly interested when he heard Emiya's nickname.

"Basically, he was a freelancer. A glorified assassin for the Mage's Association to kill heretical magi and Dead Apostles. But that was not why he was so infamous." Zouken continued, ignoring Shinji's, yet again, confused look when he mentioned Dead Apostles. This was not the time to explain every term to the boy. "No, he was so infamous because he used technology and combined it with magic to kill his enemies. Most magi are very proud and scornful towards modern technology, to the point where they dismiss it almost entirely. So naturally, someone like the 'magus killer' would surprise them by using normal human weaponry and firearms. He was not above relying on unconventional and underhanded tricks to beat his foes either. You do know about human weaponry, do you?"

"Yeah. I've seen stuff like that on TV." Shinji tilted his head curiously. "So you don't mind technology?"

Zouken shook his head. "No. I do not have to rely on it, but I do not mind it either. Your father bought this TV thing to entertain himself and you. It does not bother me. You were supposed to never know about magic after all. But you could say that I am one of the few exceptions. Most magi are like I have just described."

"Why are you telling me all of this?"

"Because you can still be a part of the magical world, Shinji. And I have told you about Kiritsugu Emiya, because I wanted to show you that you do not have to use magic to beat a magus."

"But you said this Emiya guy _combined _technology with magic!" The boy complained. "So he did have to use magic!"

"This is only partly true." Zouken said calmly. "He used magic when it was convenient. It was nothing more than a tool for him, just like his other weapons. He sniped magi from afar, he shot them from close range, he killed them in their sleep, he poisoned them, he blew them up... he used anything he could in order to complete his mission. When he did not need to use magic, he simply did not use it. Very few magi prepare for these things. You just have to be fast, pragmatic and take them by surprise. And if that does not work, have a backup plan ready. Kiritsugu Emiya used grenades that flashed his enemies for a short moment, to give an example. Enough to either kill them or to escape."

The old man smiled to himself. Shinji looked more and more amazed and intrigued during his explanation. Licking his lips, the boy asked: "So you mean I can be like that Emiya guy? Fighting magi with normal weapons..." He seemed torn.

"Some members of the Mage's Association have use for people with those kind of talents. They consider it more practical than disgraceful. You cannot do any magic, but you would still be valuable for the magical world. And you would do good things as well. Heretical magi and Dead Apostles hurt and kill innocent people. You would save quite a lot of people if you were to hunt them." Zouken sighed. "However, I am not going to lie to you. A lot of magi would regard you with disdain."

"Screw them!" Shinji shouted, and Zouken knew he had him now. "What's so bad about using technology if it can save people and even defeat magi?"

"Nothing." Zouken answered. "It is just their irrational pride. And fear. They are quite right when they say that human weaponry can be dangerous and unreliable, but magic can be too. Although this is not important right now. I have told you that you can be valuable to the Matou family in spite of your lack of magical talent. Is that right?"

Shinji nodded.

"That is because I want you to help your adoptive sister. I intend to make her into a respectable heir of the Matou family. I would like you two to study together. This will not only benefit her, mind you. If you choose the path we have just talked about, it will definitely be useful for you as well. It is a wise choice to learn as much about magic as possible when you intend to fight against magi and Dead Apostles. This information could even save your life. So no, what you have learned until now was not a waste of time. Quite the opposite, it will benefit you in the future. And not only you. It will benefit both Sakura and the Matou family in general. The girl will have an easier time here if you help her. You are a fast learner, quite perceptive and you seem to have a good understanding on magical theory if the notes you have forgotten here are anything to go by." He pointed at the notes in front of Shinji.

"I forgot them here yesterday." The boy muttered, blushing a little at his grandfather's praise. "... Do you really think I could do all of that?" He asked shyly.

"It will not be easy. No, it will be very hard at times." Zouken walked towards the book that the boy had thrown against the wall earlier. He picked it up. "But you will be able to do it if you really try, of that I am sure." Holding the book out to Shinji, the old man asked: "What do you think?"

The blue-haired boy smiled slightly. "I think I can do it."

"Very well. It is late, but I suppose one could still read one or two chapters of this book, even if it _is _about Alchemy." Zouken's eyes would have probably twinkled if they had been able to give that impression.

The boy's smile got wider. "Then I'll do that." He took the book.

When his grandfather left the library, Shinji was fully engrossed in reading the newest page of the book once more. And right now, Alchemy didn't even sound that boring anymore.

XXX

Zouken sighed contentedly as he finally sat in his favourite chair. He had prepared himself for this talk with his grandson, but it proved to be more exhausting than he had anticipated. But the result was very satisfying. There was still a high possibility that Shinji would grow to resent Sakura, yes, but this time Zouken would make sure that there was neither abuse nor rape involved.

He would also have to tell Shinji about the Grail War very soon. Zouken planned on using Shinji as backup for Sakura in the Fifth Grail War, if it didn't end with the Fourth this time. Shinji might be furious if he found out about the War after he began to train. He might conclude that all the things Zouken had said were just for the sake of manipulating him into his grandfather's weapon to help in winning the War, and not unreasonably so. That was why he had to tell Shinji before, to make sure the boy knew he was honest with him. Zouken did not intend to hide that he valued people that were useful to him and the Matou family more than anything else.

What he also had to do was to think about how he would handle Byakuya this time. Try to teach him some magecraft as well? He would never be better than just mediocre, so maybe it was a waste of time. But perhaps this was what Byakuya needed...

And then there was Kariya. The man who had left the Matou family in disgust and hated Zouken more than anyone else. And one could not blame him for this. Should he notify him of Sakura's adoption? Should he tell him about the Fourth War and anything related to it? Should he ask for forgiveness and hope the man would stay because of Sakura? Should he persuade him into being a Master again?

No, the last part was not a good idea. Kariya's fate would be quite different this time. And could he... could he really manipulate everyone around him so ruthlessly? Could he really make everyone into his tools? Zouken genuinely thought he acted in everyone's best interest, but was it good to do all of this? Shinji's life would be in great danger if he was to fight in the Fifth War. He needed to stop the Grail War system, but at what cost? And what about Sakura? What if she died in the War? Everything would have been in vain. Justizia's miracle...

Yes, there were many things he still had to think about.

But he would think later about all of this. It tired him to follow and observe Uryuu, the talk with Shinji was just a bonus. He needed all the strength he could get.

Tomorrow, Sakura Tohsaka, soon-to-be Matou, would come. And he was not sure if he could bear to be looked at with those eyes. He couldn't even remember what they looked like at first. No, he only could remember what her eyes looked like much, much later in her life.

Dull and lifeless.

* * *

**Au****thor's Note: **Zouken's and Shinji's talk was rather long. And I have the feeling that I should call Zouken "Mr. Exposition" soon. XD

So yeah... the part about Mr. Cool was a little creepy to write for me, but I think Zouken had to get rid of him rather sooner than later. He still has a lot to take care of too.

I hope Zouken (or rather, I) explained all the stuff about magic and etc. well enough. I'm mostly writing from memory and only looking the things up I know almost nothing about, so please point out if something is wrong. Criticism is always appreciated as well. :)

Next chapter: Sakura will make her appearance!


	4. Kariya Matou

**Disclaimer: **I don't own anything related to Fate/Stay Night. If I did, then I probably wouldn't write fanfiction about it.

**Author's Note: **Took me long enough to update this. Many thanks for the reviews, you guys are great!

I already have someone (it's vague) in mind for Uryuu's replacement. Since I tend to dislike OCs and only use them when I absolutely need to, I'll probably use someone from another work of the Fate franchise. Extra, Prototype, Apocrypha... that's more than enough, I think. Same goes for the Servant.

So... Chapter 4! There will be a really obvious cameo (well, for anyone who knows the show), but it's actually for plot purposes! Okay, I wouldn't have needed to use _that _character, but I wanted to!

* * *

Kariya smiled at the lovely clicking sound as he took yet another picture of the church in front of him.

This one was better than the two previous ones, he could tell. Ah, because the clouds conveniently covered a part of the sky above the church the moment he took the picture! Neither too bright, nor too dim. Perfect.

Kariya's smile turned even brighter when he looked at the picture. It was just as good as he thought it would be, maybe even better. Kasamino City wasn't exactly a town full of nice buildings, but the Sakura church was breathtakingly beautiful. He slipped his right hand into his pocket and took out one of the two packs of pocky he had purchased earlier. Putting one stick between his teeth, Kariya decided to take a look at the pictures he had taken already.

He had taken quite a few good pictures of various buildings already, especially in Mitakihara City and some other smaller ones nearby. There was the gigantic shopping mall, the concert hall and plenty of various (and sometimes truly enormous) towers in Mitakihara City. One of them kind of looked like that one building that was supposed to be built in Dubai, strangely enough. Then there was the Asunaro dome in the nearby Asunaro City. And finally the Sakura church in the town he was currently in, Kasamino City (though it might as well have been on the edge of Mitakihara City, he wasn't sure). What he was sure of was that the interior of the church must have been even more beautiful, but that quickly turned into mild disappointment when he saw that the door was locked.

He couldn't wait to show the pictures to Aoi, Rin and Sakura. They always enjoyed looking at his photos, so he was even more motivated to take especially good ones to impress them. One month had passed since he last saw them, and his current trip would still take two more months. Ah well, he would still take many more nice pictures. Maybe in-

Kariya's thoughts were interrupted when his phone suddenly rang. He took it out of his pocket and looked at a number he didn't recognize with a frown. He decided to answer it.

"Hello?"

_"Kariya?" _A voice he hadn't heard in years asked quietly.

"Byakuya?" Kariya couldn't quite tell whether he felt more surprised or upset now. A call from the dreaded Matou household could never be a good thing. "What do you want?" He asked, though he mostly tried to keep the venom out of his voice. It didn't make sense to be hostile when he didn't even know the reason of the call yet. Even though the reason couldn't be a good thing.

_"Zouken told me to call you." _His brother said, malice dripping from his voice at saying their "father's" name. Kariya could relate, and was not surprised that his brother still hated Zouken. _"He said to tell you to come to the Matou household. He wants to talk to you." _Before Kariya could comment, Byakuya added: _"And before you say, and I know you were just about to, that you have no intention of talking to the old vampire, he said it's about Sakura Tohsaka."_

"Sakura?" Kariya asked, his eyes narrowing. "What about Sakura?"

_"Yeah well, the old man adopted her. Plans to make her into the heir, give her the Crest and all that. Can't say I'm all too happy about it. Another child to take care of will be a pain in the ass. And if she's as annoying to deal with as her dad it'll be even worse. And- hey, Kariya? You still listening? Kariya?"_

"Yeah." Kariya said in an almost whisper.

As soon as Byakuya had finished the first sentence, his mind blanked out and all he could do was stare at the sky. Sakura... would go to the Matou? Why? This couldn't be happening! What the hell was wrong with Tokiomi? Why didn't Aoi...?

"When will she come to the Matou household?" He asked, shaking his head in an attempt to clear his thoughts.

_"She's here already. Arrived about an hour ago. Doesn't show much of a reaction to anything. The old man's not here yet, so I told her to go study with Shinji. Still can't believe he told Shinji- nevermind." _Apparently aware of his rambling now, Byakuya harrumphed. _"So, are you gonna come here?"_

"Immediately." Kariya answered, then hung up. He didn't know if his brother still had something to say, but that didn't matter to him right now. If Zouken hadn't met Sakura yet, then that would mean there was still a good chance to save her.

So he dialled the information office's number, asked for the number of the nearest train station, called the train station and asked when the next train to Fuyuki City (or at least into the same direction) would set off.

Three hours. From his current position he wouldn't even need one hour to walk to the train station, running there would take him about twenty minutes. It was longer than he had hoped, but at least it was something. And it would take him directly to Fuyuki City.

Still, just standing around and doing nothing while Sakura was in danger pissed him off. Unfortunately, he couldn't do anything but wait for the train now. So he looked at the Sakura church again, sadly not being able to appreciate its beauty right now.

Kariya knew he could not save Sakura by force. He barely remembered what magic the old man had taught him before he mustered up all of his courage and ran away. He ran away partly because he felt disgust at the Matou magecraft, and partly because he didn't want to involve Aoi with the Matou family, since he knew Zouken wanted him to produce an heir with the woman. A part of him had been glad when she married Tokiomi Tohsaka, as much as he resented that arrogant mage. There was no way the old man would risk pissing the Tohsaka family off, so Aoi was save there. And she seemed pretty happy with Tokiomi too, although Kariya could not fathom why. But as long as the woman he loved was happy, he could live with it.

He also never thought Tokiomi was _that _bad... until now. There was no way Aoi had approved of this! Tokiomi hypnotised or threatened her, Kariya was sure of that! Aoi was probably crying right now...

With those thoughts rushing through his mind Kariya was staring at the church absentmindedly. He looked at his watch and sighed, only fifteen minutes had passed. Well, maybe he could buy Sakura something nice in the time he had to spend waiting. So he turned right and-

Ran into a red-haired girl, who glared at him even before she hit the ground.

"Watch where you're going!" She growled.

"I'm sorry!" Kariya exclaimed at the same time and helped her up. Or rather, tried, because she pushed him away immediately.

"I can stand up on my own." She said rudely, and proceeded to do exactly that. The girl flipped her ponytail behind her head. "Damn. You just made me waste my last pocky!" She seemed even more enraged at this, pointing at the stick on the ground that she apparently was forced to let go when they collided.

Kariya quickly reached into his pocket and pulled the unopened pack of pocky he still had left. He held it out to her with a smile. "I think that compensates for one lost pocky, doesn't it?"

"My father always told me I shouldn't take anything from strangers." She said with a smirk, before shrugging. "But screw it. I'm hungry." The girl took the pack, instantly opened it and put one of the chocolate-flavored sticks into her mouth. "Want some?" She asked, apparently not minding that he had knocked her on the ground anymore.

"No, thanks." Kariya said with a chuckle. He looked at the girl's dirty clothes and frowned. He didn't want to be prejudiced, but that redhead did kind of look like a delinquent. "Do you live here?"

"Nah. I only come here because of the church." The girl replied, her gaze lingering on the building, almost longingly.

"It really is a beautiful church." Kariya said, also looking at the church.

"Heh. Yeah." She had something resembling a smile on her face, though it looked more like a good-natured grin with the pocky between her teeth.

Remembering what he wanted to do before he collided with the redhead, Kariya asked: "Say, do you know any jeweler's shops nearby?"

The girl didn't have to think for more than a few seconds. "You know where the next train station is?"

He nodded.

"Should be one about halfway through on the way there. You can't really miss it." She suddenly grinned. "Heh, you just gave me an idea for something. Just follow me." The girl started to walk into the direction Kariya had wanted to go before crashing into her.

Kariya quickly caught up to her. "I'd like to buy something for a little girl. Think you can help me with that? I'd like to make it special."

"Can't say I'm good at that, but I'll see what I can do." She looked at him with mild curiousity. "Family?" The girl asked.

Kariya smiled bitterly.

"Yeah, you could say that."

XXX

"Asshole." Byakuya muttered, jamming the phone back into the receiver. That prick had just seriously hung up on him? It's not that he had anything more to say, but it was still annoying.

Sakura Tohsaka, now Sakura Matou. That girl obviously meant something to his brother, probably because he still had the hots for that Aoi chick. Would that idiot Kariya try to free the girl just so he could impress her mother? How ridiculous.

Byakuya didn't know what to think of the girl. It was obvious that she felt sad, but her face showed no emotion, even as her parents had bid her farewell. Basically, she acted like a magus was supposed to, but he still found the lack of reaction weird.

He had barely been able to suppress a mocking laugh when Tokiomi Tohsaka told the girl to bring success and honor to the Matou family. That guy really had no clue what his daughter would do here, did he? Tohsaka had to know about the insects, though it was doubtful that he knew what exactly they did. Probably that they were only used for combat and spying? Who knew? Aoi Tohsaka had tried to make a brave face and basically said the same as her husband, but looked like she was close to tears when Sakura bid her farewell.

She hadn't said a single word the entire time Byakuya showed her through the house, which was more than okay with him. A quiet child wouldn't be that troublesome, and she didn't seem like she would bother him much.

Ah, but there _was _one moment where her emotionless facade had broken. When Byakuya suggested, well more like commanded, to go study with Shinji in the library, Sakura attempted to call him "father", then suddenly looked scared and called him "sir" instead. He didn't particulary care either way. She was just the old vampire's tool, and he couldn't care less what came out of her mouth.

By now the word "father" was mostly meaningless to him anyway.

XXX

"Come to think of it, what does a young girl like you want in here?" Kariya asked while looking at the various jewelry in the shop. Bracelets, pendants, necklaces, rings, brooches... he honestly couldn't decide on what to buy, they all looked great. The shopkeeper had politely asked them if they looked for something specific, but Kariya just told him they wanted to look around on their own for a while. "Is it for your mother's birthday?"

"Nah." The girl's face darkened for a short moment, before turning normal again. "It's for a friend."

"Jewelry for a friend?" Kariya gave her a skeptical look. "Well, I won't pry. What do you have in mind?"

"Something with a gemstone. It should be a... green one?" She seemed as lost as he felt about Sakura's present. "It's her favorite color. I think."

"You think?"

"Uhh... well, her hair color's green."

"... Good enough, I guess." Kariya offered lamely. "So you're probably looking for something with an emerald. Or maybe a jade stone."

The girl shrugged. "I'll find something myself. I'll help you when I'm finished."

Kariya nodded. "Thanks."

Not wanting to stand around pointlessly, he decided to look around some more. Maybe he would find something nice himself. Besides, just standing around and doing nothing made him feel even worse, as if he was wasting time. Even though nothing he did here would change the time the train arrived, but such feelings were often irrational. The walk here felt so short too, even Kariya withdrawing money at a cash machine on the way felt longer. Still, he had the desire to do something, _anything_. Maybe he could ask the shopkeeper for help now, even though he had a strange aversion to asking clerks about anything.

To his surprise, he didn't need long to find the perfect present at all.

It was a silver necklace with a ruby pendant. It looked fairly simple, yet Kariya couldn't take his eyes off it. The ruby was so oddly captivating, and he just _knew _Sakura would love it as well.

"You seem to be interested in the necklace." He looked up and saw the shopkeeper standing there with a pleased expression on his face. "Most people don't even notice it among all the other jewelry."

"It's beautiful." Kariya said. "I would like to buy it."

The shopkeeper told him the price, and to Kariya's surprise it was a lot cheaper than he had expected.

Having bought Sakura's present, Kariya took a look at his watch and sighed. More than enough time left. The torture he had been feeling with each passing second was mostly over now, having left a numb resignation behind. He didn't remember much about his life in the Matou household, but he did remember the insects. Would they attack him if he tried to get inside the house? He didn't know, but would try to do so regardless.

He briefly thought if there was some sort of magic police within the Mage's Association who could help him and arrest or kill Zouken for his crimes, but he neither knew how to contact the Association nor had enough time to find out how. He briefly thought about asking Tohsaka, but the magus would just get suspicious. While they didn't openly hate each other, Kariya was well aware of Tokiomi's distaste for him since he had betrayed the Matou family. Plus, Zouken was rich and had many valuable relics. No doubt he would just bribe whoever came to investigate anyway. Not that Kariya knew if Zouken's actions against Sakura were even a criminal offense in the world of magi. He tried to be optimistic about it, but he had his doubts.

Actually managing to get Sakura out of there seemed unlikely, so Kariya was thinking of convincing Zouken to let her go... somehow. He just needed to offer the old man something better.

"You found something yourself, eh?" The redheaded girl snapped Kariya out of his thoughts.

"Ah, yeah." Kariya answered, a little embarrassed that he hadn't even noticed her standing in front of him.

"Daydreaming like this will get you killed if you're not careful." She chastised mockingly. "That necklace looks nice. By the way, I've already found what I was searching for." She held up a silver brooch with an emerald in its center. "What do you think?"

"It looks nice too." Kariya couldn't resist the urge to smirk. "I'm sure that friend of yours will like it. Who knows, maybe she'll even award you with a kiss."

"That's what I'm hoping for." The redhead said and smirked back at him, surprising Kariya. He expected blushing and denial. This girl was good.

Kariya decided to call the train station while she was purchasing her brooch, just to make sure the train didn't come earlier or anything like that, but nothing had changed.

He put the phone back into his pocket just as the girl was walking back from the cash desk. She looked sour.

"Why the long face?" He asked.

The girl grimaced. "Don't have enough money."

"How much would you need?"

"35000 yen." She gave him an amused expression. "What, you gonna give me the money?"

Kariya took out his wallet. The girl looked at him, dumbfounded.

"I was joking." She said.

Kariya smiled. "You did show me this place, so I'm grateful. I'm not exactly rich, but I can afford this much. Don't worry."

"Seriously?" The girl asked. She tried to give a mocking laugh, but failed at sounding very mocking. "You remind me of a friend. She would've done the same. That idiot..."

Kariya was again surprised when she took the money without protesting. She just cracked a joke about Kariya expecting her to pay him back with sex... after which the most awkward of awkward silences followed, though thankfully the awkardness subsided when she finally went to the shopkeeper to pay for her brooch.

Not much was said when they stepped out of the shop. Both Kariya and the girl walked in silence towards the train station, and in the girl's case a friend's apartment that happened to lie in the same direction.

Before they knew both of them were already standing in front of the station.

"So..." Kariya began after a short silence. "This is it, I guess. Thanks again for showing me that jeweler's shop."

"Yeah. Err..." The girl looked uncomfortable. "Thanks for helping me out earlier. You probably feel good about yourself now, helping a charity case like me, eh?" She gave him an arrogant smirk.

The only answer she got was Kariya giving her an odd look, so she continued.

"Anyways, I have to get going now. My _friends _are waiting for me." Kyoko huffed. "I wouldn't want to be scolded by my high and mighty senpai, while her ice queen girlfriend stares daggers at me." Noticing Kariya's expression, she quickly added: "We just study."

"Of course." Kariya said dryly.

"By the way..." The girl began, and surprised Kariya for the third time when she told him her name.

"My niece's first name is Sakura." He noted. "Oh, and I'm Kariya Matou. It was nice to meet you. And good luck with that kiss."

"Luck is for losers. I'm all about pure prowess!" The redhead boasted. She looked at a nearby clock and cursed. "Damn, I'm gonna be late." She looked back to Kariya. "I hope your niece is gonna like the necklace. Bye."

"Bye." Kariya said, after which the girl started running, her ponytail swinging behind her from side to side.

He sighed. There was still quite some time left until the train would come, and he really wasn't what could be considered a patient person. He looked at the necklace with the captivating ruby and felt a little better. It wouldn't save Sakura, but at least it would make her happier, if only a little.

XXX

As she sat in the library of the Matou mansion and stared into the book in front of her, Sakura had mixed feelings.

Of course they were all a mix of negative emotions, like anxiety. Or fear. Or uncomfortableness. She tried to be emotionless while her new adoptive father showed her the mansion and did a good job at it, but she apparently used all that power up, as she was doing a poor job at masking her anxiety right now.

The thought of having left her family to live with complete strangers was bad enough, but reading books about magic together with her new adoptive brother, who seemed to be only capable of either snorting or huffing and looked like a younger and healthier version of her new adoptive father, was a new level of unpleasant. Oh well, at least he ignored her.

"Hey, you."

So much for ignoring.

Sakura gulped. "Y-Yes?"

"You've been staring at the same page for several minutes now." He didn't even look up from his own book. "Read. Do something productive."

"I-I'm sorry." Sakura stammered.

"Don't think I'll go easy on you just because it's your first day here. I'm supposed to help you prepare for being a heir, so you better not make me look bad." Her brother declared. "Got it?"

She nodded, but looked at him in confusion.

He noticed her confusion and explained: "Grandfather will train you, but he told me to help you study. I've been reading these books for months now, so I understand the theory pretty well. Ask me if you need help." He muttered the last part with even more annoyance.

"O-Okay. Thank you." Sakura looked at her adoptive brother cautiously. "Um... may I call you 'nii-san' from now on?"

"My name is Shinji, but sure. Whatever."

"Thank you."

There was a short silence.

"Nii-san?"

"Yes?"

"Could I get a book for beginners, if it's not too much to ask?"

"What, you've been reading advanced stuff this whole time?" Shinji sounded like he was about to tear his hair off.

"I don't think 'reading' is the right word..."

Shinji didn't look pleased at all, but even so Sakura couldn't help but feel at least slightly better. She still missed her family terribly and was scared of meeting the man who was to train her.

But even though her new adoptive brother seemed to be nothing but annoyed by her presence, the book he practically threw at her just now not being the only evidence, she couldn't help but feel a little less lonely.

Sakura Matou opened the book in front of her and began to read.

* * *

**Au****thor's Note: **Not much to say here. Kariya appeared and... not much other stuff happened. Goddamnit, I need to kick my muse in the ass.

I hope you enjoyed it anyway. Have a nice day!


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